Frank Zappa’s Estate Planning Major Series of Reissues, New Releases

Rolling Stone reports that the late guitar legend's estate has entered into an extensive licensing and distribution pact with Universal Music, opening the floodgates for all manner of "new product releases, film and theatrical productions and trademark licensing," starting with a 180-gram vinyl reissue of Zappa's 1974 LP One Size Fits All that's due to arrive in stores Aug. 14.

The new deal comes as Zappa's son Ahmet assumes control of the Zappa Family Trust, taking over for his widow, Gail Zappa. "This is literally an opportunity of a lifetime for me," Gail's quoted as saying in a press release. "I am universally thrilled with this partnership because the fans will have unparalleled access to Frank Zappa's works. The doors to the vault are now officially wide open."

Given that Zappa's incredibly prolific output has already filled 100 official releases, it's a little mind-boggling to imagine what wide-open vaults might mean for fans, but according to Ahmet, he already has a series of releases in the pipeline, including Joe's Garage, The Musical, the long-awaited Roxy Movie and a recording of an orchestra performance of 200 Motels featuring the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

"The fans of Frank Zappa will have more music and more access – when they want it and how they want it," enthused Ahmet. "With Universal as our partner, I look forward to bringing to life Joe's Garage, The Musical, the release of The Roxy Movie, the release of the Disney Hall performance of 200 Motels under the baton of [conductor] Esa-Pekka Salonen and so many more projects of this caliber. I couldn't be more excited about the future."

News of these new releases comes weeks after the arrival of Dance Me This, the final album Zappa was working on before his death in 1993. That title is available for purchase now.